A post of updates and things.

[makeste]

1. Japan. No words. It's just devastating, but I think what's affecting me even more than all of the horrifying news about the growing body count and the nuclear scares is the positive news of how amazingly strong and patient the whole country is being while they cope and recover. Everyone is so cooperative and understanding and willing to help their neighbors even while they're suffering themselves, and goddamn but they are just the most resilient people in the world. I was looking at some of the survivor pictures on CNN earlier today and they fucking made me cry. So did this. I don't know how a situation can be so devastating and inspiring at the same time, but all I know is I've felt pretty damn small for the past few days.

Much love to everyone involved with help_japan, incidentally. I think it's awesome that fandom's doing what they can. I wish I had time to participate, but I think I'm gonna stick with Red Cross donations for now, anyway.


2. REAL LIFE KEEPS EATING ME UP sob. My mom was starting to have trouble keeping up with the rent on her old apartment, so she moved to a smaller one this past weekend. The new place is nice; I wish I could say the same about the moving process. XD Basically all my free time the last couple of weeks has been spent helping to pack and move things. But that's finally done now, much to my relief, seeing as it was getting to the point where the mere sight of a cardboard box would make me want to punch things. FUCK YOU, CARDBOARD BOXES.


3. I'm two weeks behind in reviews orz. AND I HAVEN'T READ 329 YET. DON'T SPOIL ME! T_T I've been reading my flist with like. One eye open. XD Anyway, Imma get to that soon, sorry.

Comments

[teruame.livejournal.com]

In ways, this event was the one that made me break my resolve to stay indifferent, though...whether that is because this situation had the most coverage of all the disasters in the last couple of years or whether it's because of the endless series of disasters in the last five years that broke my will (probably starting with the SiChuan earthquake). As for resilience...it depends on the definition and perspective (since that word can be positive AND negative at the same time in my opinion), but I don't disagree that these people are holding it together well even in the face of such adversity.

[makeste.livejournal.com]

Well, for me at least, I think this event hit me harder than most of the recent disasters in memory because Japan and us are kind of bros. I love the country, I have a lot of friends from that country (and a lot more who have family there), and I mean, fuck, it's Japan. Fucking Japan! And it really is painful to see them suffering through all this, and it's horrifying beyond words, and yet damned if they don't get right back up again, and pushing on through, and I think seeing that most of all is what makes me unable to just sit still without doing something.

It's interesting, because situations like this can either bring out the best or worst in humanity, but from what I'm seeing it's all been the former. And that, I think, is what moves me the most about it.

[teruame.livejournal.com]

That's where I might differ in ways. I do admit that I feel angry at myself for not helping enough for this situation and damnedly sorry that the Japanese people have to suffer like this, but...I also feel exceptionally impacted by the Indonesian tsunami and the Haiti disaster (as well as the SiChuan earthquake, since I am, by ethnicity, Chinese American). No matter where I look, I see all nationalities, ethnicities and individuals of different religious backgrounds as part of one human race--even if they are different in so many ways--and it makes me dislike myself more whenever I don't care enough about them, especially in their most difficult times. I know that might sound strange, but...that's me.